Archive for the ‘Western Morning News’ Category

Camborne Chess Club is embracing the approaching festive season with a Camborne Christmas Lightning tournament on Friday 16th December, at Bickford Smith Bowling Club, Tuckingmill, TR14 8RG, starting at 7.15 p.m. It will consist of 5 or 6 rounds, and entry is free, except that it is good form to take a small prize (chocolates, biscuits, bottle of something etc.) that will be awarded during the evening. Anyone can enter – you don’t have to be a member of any club – just turn up, although it would save time on the night if players entered in advance by phoning Robin Kneebone on 0753-1543-651 or on-line at contact@cornwallchess.org.uk

Steve Homer is a fine attacking player with an excellent record at the top level of Devon chess. This season, however, he seems to have developed a blind spot when his opponent happens to be Cornish. His loss to James Hooker in October’s Devon vs Cornwall match has already been noted, but here is his game from the WECU Jamboree in September.

White: Mark Hassall (183). Black: Stephen Homer (190).

Sicilian Defence – Najdorf Variation. [B94]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 Najdorf’s signature move. 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.f4 e5 8.Nf3 Qa5 pinning the knight and threatening NxP 9.Qd2 h6 10.Bxf6 Nxf6 11.Bc4 Be7 If 11…Qb4 there might follow 12.fxe5 Qxc4 13.exf6 gxf6 14.Nd5 threatening to fork queen and rook on b6, or force Black’s king to move after NxP+. 12.0–0–0 0–0 13.Kb1 After this preparatory move the race is on to attack first. Qc5 14.Bb3 b5 15.Nd5 Bd8 16.Rhe1 exf4 At this stage all White’s pieces are developed, coordinated and focussed, whereas Black’s back rank looks awkward and cramped. Black could do with getting his bishops more into the game, so that his rooks can become connected, with something like 16…Bg4. 17.Qxf4 Nd7 17…Nh5 might have been more pro-active. 18.Qd2 Re8 etc. 18.Nd4 Bg5 19.Qg3 Ne5 20.h4 Bd8 Now White can start to focus on attacking the king’s position. 21.Nf5 Threatening NxP+ 21…Bxf5 22.exf5 Kh7 23.Rf1 Ra7 24.f6 g6 25.h5 Rg8 26.Qh3 g5 27.Qf5+ Kh8 28.c3 Freeing c2 for his bishop to join the fray. 28…a5 29.Bc2 Ng6 The “cheapest” way to avoid immediate mate. 30.hxg6 Rxg6 31.Qh3 1-0 Resigns, Having just given up his knight to avoid mate now Black must lose a rook as well or get mated.

The 3rd Plymouth Rapidplay tournament is accessible to players from both counties and takes place on Sunday 4th December at the Plymouth Chess Club, starting at 10 a.m. More details may be found on their website www.plymouthchess.co.uk.

Last week’s 3-mover was solved by 1.Qh8! followed by 2.Qa8+ or Qe8+ depending on what Black tries, and then 3.Qb5# or Bc2#

In this week’s position from a game earlier this year, White (to play) has all his big guns idling on the back rank doing nothing very much. Should he do something about that or is there a better plan?

A fuller report and photos may be found on keverelchess.com while games are on chessdevon.org

Here is the event’s first game to finish – a Devon vs Cornwall affair.

White: J. Menadue. Black: J. Wheeler. Queen’s Bishop’s Game [D00]

1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 The Levitsky Variation, named after the Russian Stepan Livitsky (1876–1924) who played this move against Rubinstein at Vilna in 1912, where he finished ahead of Alekhine and Nimzowitsch. 2…h6 3.Bh4 c6 4.Nf3 Qb6 Hunting a cheap pawn when perhaps the development of minor pieces should be a priority. 5.Nbd2 Bf5 If 5…Qxb2 6.e3 Nd7 7.Bd3 Ngf6 8.0–0. 6.b3 Nd7 7.e3 e6 8.Be2 Ngf6 9.0–0 Ba3 10.Rb1 Bb4 11.a4 0–0 12.Kh1 Rac8 Now Black has caught up in development, how will it go? 13.Bd3 Ne4 14.Bxe4 Of course not 14.Nxe4?? because dxe4 wins a piece. 14…dxe4 15.Nc4 Qa6 16.Nfe5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 f6 Significantly weakening his king’s position. 18.exf6 gxf6 19.Qh5 Heading directly for the weak spot. 19…Kg7 20.Rfd1 grabbing the open file, as one should. 20…Rc7 Slightly better would have been 20…Rf7 followed by …Bg6 to protect the king and nudge away White’s queen. The text move invites the black square bishop to conduct the funeral rites. 21.Bg3 Rcf7 22.Bf4 Rh8 23.Ne5! Re7 If 23…fxe5 24.Bxe5+ Kg8 25.Bxh8 Kxh8 26.Qxf7 and mate cannot be avoided.

24.g4 fxe5 25.Bxe5+ Kh7 26.gxf5 Rg8 27.Rd8! Rgg7 If 27…Rxd8 28.Qg6#. 28.Qg6+ Black knew mate was in store at this point, but sportingly allowed the game to run its course. 28…Rxg6 29.Rh8# 1–0

In last week’s diagram it wasn’t difficult to find 1.RxN! RxR 2.Rh8+ and mate cannot be avoided.

Devon’s Team Blitz Tournament took place on Sunday at the Newton Abbot Chess Club with 10 teams of 4 players taking part. The players had just 12 minutes for all their moves in each of the 6 games to be played. It was noticeably stronger than in recent years with more clubs determined to take first prize. They finished in this order (all points out of 24): 1st Exeter 19; 2nd Tiverton 18; 3rd Seaton 16½; 4th Newton Abbot ‘A’ 15; 5th Exmouth 13; 6th Exeter ‘B’ 10; 7th Torquay Boys’ G.S. 8½; 8th Teignmouth ‘8’; 9th Newton Abbot ‘B’ 7; 10th Weymouth 5. The only player to win all six games was Paul Hampton of Seaton. In recent years Dorset players have been deprived of inter-county competition by the fact that no-one is prepared to act as county captain, and have been forced to withdraw from the West of England inter-county tournaments, so they asked to be allowed to enter a team drawn for the Weymouth and Dorchester clubs. This was agreed to but they found it very tough going.

The Beacon Seniors Congress started on Monday afternoon and finished only yesterday. The entry was slightly up and noticeably stronger than previous years, and after 2 rounds it was impossible to conjecture who might be featuring in the prizelist. Suffice it to say that the early results were completely topsy-turvy, with modestly-graded club players beating or drawing against much higher-rated opposition. Here is a game from Round 2 in last year’s event that demonstrates that very point.

The Royal Beacon Seniors Congress starts in Exmouth on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. with a slight rise in entries and a number of new faces. Shortly after that will be the 50th Torbay Congress in Torquay, over the weekend starting Friday 11th November. To commemorate this landmark there will be some extra attractions, like book prizes, etc. The prizelist will be considerable as it includes the Torbay individual championship in each of the four sections. Entry forms can downloaded from chessdevon.org.

Devon’s inter-club competitions are under way with the first completed match last Saturday involving Exmouth’s long trip to Barnstaple for a match in Division 2, the Mamhead Cup. This was the game on Board 4, which involved the rare sighting of an eccentric opening.

White: Alan Dean (140). Black: Rob Oughton (124)

Grob Opening [A00]

1.g4 The Grob Opening, analysed by the Swiss international, Henry Grob (1904-’74) in his book of 1942. It has had a number of other names, most recently “The Spike”. It’s rarely seen in serious tournament play, but has a small number of devoted adherents, like the IM Mike Basman and the winner of this game. It undoubtedly has a surprise value, but White players are advised to know it well before trying it, and Black players are advised not to take it too lightly – it can bite. 1…d5 2.e3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 e6 5.Nf3 Nd7 6.Nc3 a6 7.b3 c5 8.Bb2 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Ne7 10.Qd2 Rb8 White has compromised his kingside as a safe haven and intends to castle long. Black senses this and prepares his own attack on the queenside. 11.0–0–0 But White does it anyway. 11…Nc6 12.Nce2 Nxd4 13.Nxd4 0–0 14.h4 Of course. It’s now a race to get their attack in first. 14…Qe7 15.h5 g5? White’s charging pawns cause Black to weaken his own pawn formation. Better might have been 15…e5 16.Ne2 Nb6 with a pawn centre and an attack on g4. 16.h6 Bh8 17.f4 White can afford to throw all his kingside pawns forward; if he doesn’t Black will soon be doing the same on the queen’s wing. 17…f6?? It looks innocent enough but weakens e6 and allows White to strike a fatal blow. Better to try and give his queenside pieces a chance of developing with something like 17…Nf6. 18.Nxe6! Nb6 If 18…Qxe6 19.Bxd5 winning the queen. 19.Nxf8 Kxf8 20.fxg5 Ke8 21.Rhf1 Bringing a third piece to attack Black’s pinned f-pawn – it’s too far gone for Black to save. 1–0

A new and highly-praised film, The Queen of Katwe, tells the true life story of how, with the help of her chess coach, a young Ugandan girl discovers she has a prodigious talent for the game which transforms her life from Kampala slum to world fame. By contrast HMRC has now bankrupted our own chess coach, Mike Basman, to the tune of £300,000.

Last week’s 2-mover was a “waiter” in that the key move 1.Rc6! poses no immediate threat, but any move that Black then makes will open up a mating move; e.g. 1…Bf3 2.Qh2# or 1…f6 2.Bd6# etc. Here is another new 2-mover by Dave Howard.

Devon and Cornwall met at Plymouth recently in their first match of the new season. Cornwall were competitive in the top half of the team, winning or drawing 4 of the top 8 games, but Devon’s strength in depth meant they won 7 of the lower 8 games, to give the overall score of 4 -12 a one-sided look. The details were as follows (Cornish names 1st in each pairing).

The 17th Royal Beacon Seniors Congress starts a fortnight on Monday in the Exmouth sea front hotel. There are some new faces among the regulars, including a former British Ladies Champion, a Correspondence Champion, a Latvian and identical twins. Late entries are still acceptable and a downloadable entry form may be found on chessdevon.org.

Here is a game from the 2005 event with something of an international feel to it.

White: Wim Wender (Netherlands), Black: Brian Ross (Wales),

French Defence [C00]

1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 White nearly always plays 2.d4 here, but the Dutch often like to play in a sharp, unconventional style. 2…d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4 Suddenly this resembles a Sicilian Defence Wing Gambit. 4…a6 Black is perhaps a little wary of accepting the “free” offer: e.g. 4…cxb4 5.a3 Nc6 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.Ba3 Nge7 8.Bxb4 Nxb4 9.c3 Nbc6 10.d4 etc. 5.bxc5 Bxc5 6.d4 Be7 7.a4 b6 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.0–0 Bb7 10.c3 Rc8 11.Qe2 Ra8 12.Qb2 White now brings his queen back over to the queenside and concentrates on looking for play there. 12…Na5 13.Nfd2 g6 14.Na3 Qc7 15.Rb1 Bd8 16.c4 Ne7 17.cxd5 Nxd5 18.Nac4 Nxc4 19.Nxc4 0–0 Having discovered which side Black was going to castle, White’s attack switches sides, and it is the quickness of the switch that is so telling. 20.Bh6 Re8 21.Rfc1 Qb8 Probably the least worst option, with the threat of Nd6 looming. If 21…Qd7 22.Nd6 Re7 It’s often said that with a knight established on the 6th rank, the attack should play itself. 22.Nd6 Re7 23.h4 Rc7 24.h5 Rxc1+ 25.Rxc1 Ne7 26.Ne8 Kh8 27.Qd2 Nd5 28.Nd6 Threatening Nxf7+ Black has no pieces anywhere near his threatened king. 28…Kg8 29.Qe2 Ra7 30.hxg6 fxg6 31.Qg4 Be7 If 31…Bc8 32.Rxc8 Qxc8. 32.Qxe6+ 1-0 Black resigned, in view of 32…Kh8 33.Nf7+ Kg8 34.Nd8+ Kh8 35.Qf7 etc. Just as effective was 32.Bxg6 when Black can still do nothing to stave off mate. Here is another win by the Dutchman from the 2009 event.

As Black was about to queen with check in last week’s “Pawn Puzzle”, White had to get his check in first and the only way to do this was by “under-promoting” to a knight; hence 1.a8=N+! forcing the king to the back rank, enabling 2.g8=Q mate.

This week’s problem is not quite a pawns-only position, but is from a blitz game earlier this year which means that White had c. 12 seconds to find a winning move. How long will you take to find it?

A century or so ago, Stroud in Gloucestershire was a busy centre of chess activity. It was home of the British Chess Company, founded by William Moffat (1843 – 1918) and William Hughes. They sold general chess equipment, from scoresheets to instructional books, but particularly sets made in cheaper modern alternatives to the traditional ivory ones made by Jacques, helping to bring them within reach of those with more modest incomes.

Also in the town were the offices of a new chess magazine, The Chess Amateur, started in 1916 and running until 1930, when it may have become a victim of the Great Depression. This was part of a publishing house run in George Street, Stroud, by Harry Harmer of a long-standing local family. Whether the two companies were connected in some way is not clear.

The magazine was lighter and brighter in tone and appearance than the more staid British Chess Magazine, founded in 1880 and still running today. Its regular contributors included Harold Meek, with a “Half Hours” column, who later donated the West of England’s Inter-County trophy, and Carslake Winter-Wood (“News & Notes”). The American, Alain C. White, wrote articles on chess problems and organised solving tournaments, as he also did for BCM. Also, when he started editing his famous Christmas Series of problem books (44 titles between 1905 and 1934, and now highly collectable), the majority were printed in Stroud.

It is, perhaps, no coincidence that the demise of the The Chess Amateur in 1930 led B. H. Wood to spot a gap in the market which he was happy to fill in 1935 when he founded his Chess magazine, which he ran for over half a century.

I recently acquired a small 32p booklet entitled Fifty Pawn Problems, published by the British Chess Company of Stroud and costing 4d (1½p). It gives no date or author, but it has been stated elsewhere that it forms the 1st section of a later book by J. H. Blake entitled Chess Endings For Beginners which went to a 2nd edition in 1901. This would strongly suggest that my booklet is in fact by the Hampshire man, Joseph Henry Blake (1859 – 1951), and must have been published c. 1895.

In last week’s position, Black could achieve both his aims of avoiding mate and maintaining his material advantage by playing Qe7! which places an additional attacking piece on the advanced rook, and cannot be taken because of Rd1 mate.

Here is position No. 6 from that penny ha’penny booklet, with the instruction White to play and mate in 2.

The key to last week’s 2-mover by John Brown was 1.Qe7! If 1…Bxf4 2. Be4#, or 1…Kxf4 2.Qf6#, or 1…Bf3 2.Qxf7# and finally 1…Bg7 2.Qg5#.

In this position from a game earlier this year Black is a piece up but is about to be mated unless he can find a move that not only avoids mate but maintains his material advantage. He succeeded; can you see how?

Last weekend’s TV schedules flagged up the start of a new adventure series entitled Hooten and the Lady, with high production standards and deeming it enjoyable but forgettable Friday night candy floss. In it, British Museum curator, young Lady Alex Lindo-Parker, jets off to the Amazon rainforest in search of Col. Percy Fawcett’s lost camp, is thrown together with maverick adventurer Hooten, and within on-screen minutes the pair stumble on a cave containing a skeleton, presumably that of Fawcett, grasping a treasure map in its bony hand, which quickly leads them to the fabled city of gold, El Dorado. The fact that scores of expeditions from Sir Walter Raleigh’s in 1595 to Fawcett’s in 1925 had all failed in that very same project is neither here nor there; one must suspend one’s disbelief.

What the programme doesn’t mention (and why should it?) is that Fawcett was brought up at 3, Barnpark Terrace, Teignmouth, together with 3 sisters and an older brother, Edward Douglas (1866-1960), who led a life every bit as exotic as Percy; a pioneering science fiction writer, philosopher, alpinist, aviator & chessplayer.

Douglas founded the Totnes Club in 1901 and played for Devon. He moved to Switzerland for many years to concentrate on his mountaineering, but after a heart attack halfway up the Matterhorn at the age of 66 he was forced to give up, and returned to quieter pursuits, including chess. He played in the Paignton Congress from its inception in 1951 to 1959 died in 1960 aged 94.

A report of Paignton 1958 said “Of the veteran players, 92 year old Mr. Douglas Fawcett, played some good games and delighted everyone with his memories of Pillsbury and his first game with Steinitz, played in 1879”.

Much more detail of his life may be found on keverelchess.com/e-douglas-fawcett.

Here is his game from Rd. 8 of the Southsea Congress 1949, in which he beats the 9-times Irish Champion, illustrating his sharp attacking style.

Many more games from the event may be played through or downloaded from the chessdevon website.

The West of England Inter-County Jamboree took place on Sunday at the Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, Taunton, with, like Paignton, a lower than usual entry. Devon retained the Congress Cup for the top section with 8½/12 points, followed by Somerset (6) and Cornwall (3½). The grade-limited section was won by the Torbay League (7½/12), followed by Gloucestershire (6) and Somerset II (4).

Last week’s 2-move miniature by David Howard was solved by 1.Qg1! threatening 2.Qg5 mate. If 1…Kxh4 2.Qh2 mate.

Here is a 2-move finish by Keith Arkell from a game earlier this year. If it seems relatively easy from this point, the skill lies in reaching the position in the first place.